The Real World
by x white x rabbit x
Summary: After Claire died, the gang went through a period of sadness and coping. Now that they're facing it, they have been sent on missions by Dumbledore for information etc. Things are getting more and more dangerous as more people are found dead etc. CHAPTER 4
1. Coping

**A/N: Okay, where to begin. This is the sequel to The Marauders' Final Year at school which I wrote and you can read it by going to my page and finding the stories I've authored. It's great, you should read it.**

Nineteen-year-old Lily Evans was walking through the graveyard at sunrise that morning with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. There was dew on the grass and it had rained the day before, clear sign of heaven's sadness. She walked around the graveyard, finding the large headstone bearing a very small (Like the letters were small, the passage wasn't small, get it?) inscription written by the poor girl's one true love.

_Everyday that I realize that you're gone, just makes me cry even harder than ever. I will never forget you even though it would be easier in my life if I did, but at the same time, I want you to stay in my mind so that I can have some piece of you to carry with me throughout the rest of my life. You were the one person who ever loved me with their whole heart and soul and I loved you more than anything and anyone can imagine. Life seems impossible now and your love, what kept me going for so long, is no longer sustaining me. There is no way for me to depict the grief I feel for your death and no way for me overcome it. If you were still alive, I imagine we could still do the things we used to, take walks by the lakes and kiss under the stars and ridicule our friends. Nothing can ever change the way I felt for you and nothing will bring me to another, ever._

_In memory of Clara Shay Marin, my angel and my life. I'll never forget you Claire… – Sirius Black_

Lily fought back the tears that were so close to escaping and placed the bouquet of roses, Claire's favorite flower, next to her grave along with everyone else's. It had been about six months since she died and Lily still hadn't seen a smile crease Sirius's lips. He was falling apart, and so was she. The tears were flowing down her cheeks, warm and wet. She wiped them off with the sleeve of her sweater and knelt down by the grave, her tears falling on the cement that made up the stone.

"I'm so sorry Claire," she sniffled. "I would have rather died than you, truly I would've, but I knew you would've jumped in front of the Knight Bus for me. You would've never let something like that happen, and that's why I just can't stand what happened to you." Lily stood up, wiping her eyes again and trudged back to the entrance to the graveyard, she was far too tired to walk to her house, even though it was on the same lot. There, she apparated into her kitchen and slumped down on the chair at the table. Her boyfriend of over a year and a half now, James Potter, was sitting across from her. They had been living together ever since the end of their last year at Hogwarts. It was the middle of October and Halloween was nearing. Sirius was probably at his own house and Remus at his. Lily's other best friend, Tanya would probably be with Remus at the time. They may have broken up, but that didn't change their great friendship. Lily's tears began to fall again and James looked up, hearing her sniffles. He stood up and went to her side immediately.

"Hey, hey, you're fine, she's in a batter place," he coaxed, placing his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her red, wavy hair. James hated seeing Lily cry, and in the past few months, she'd cried more than he'd ever seen her cry before. Lily had been devastated by Claire's death and when she had figured out why the cause had been so, she immediately blamed herself. Knowing that the poison that was slipped into Claire's drink was actually meant for Lily, caused her more pain every time she thought about it. Lily turned her head and buried her face into James's chest, soaking his shirt with tears. He rubbed her back softly and spoke comforting words to try and calm her, but nothing would help. Lily would probably go on like this for about an hour before she figured out how long she'd been going before trying to make herself busy in order to keep her mind off of everything.

When Lily finally got herself under control, someone else apparated into her kitchen, Sirius. He had loved Claire more than any other human being could've, more than her parents ever had and even more than Lily, as her best friend, had. Watching Sirius go through everything he had, was painful to watch. It literally made the heart ache. Sirius looked to Lily who was trying furiously to wipe the tears out of her eyes so that Sirius wouldn't see her crying. He walked over to her and knelt down next to her chair, placing a hand on her shoulder and kissing her on the cheek.

"Lils, it'll be okay," he said, small tears forming in the corners of his eyes. It was the first time Sirius had said something like that in six months and they looked up at him in surprise. Sirius had never been one to stay sad or upset for very long. The first time they ever saw him cry was in seventh year when Claire got sick because of the poison. Sirius always had this air of being arrogant and admirable, the look-at-me kind of air. In the past six months, that air had vanished completely. His gorgeous gray eyes had deep, dark circles under them, and his usually vibrant skin was pale and pallid. He looked almost sick and he was noticeably loosing his muscled stature. It was a terrible thing to watch Sirius go through and an even worse thing to endure. Lily kissed Sirius on the cheek and stood up, walking past her friend and boyfriend.

"I…have to make breakfast," she said, trying to distract herself. "Y-You w-want something, Sirius?" she struggled through her hiccoughs.

"Thanks, Lils," said Sirius softly, sitting down in one of the chairs. James hadn't gone back to his place, but instead, was behind Lily, his hands wrapped around her wrists as he kissed the top of her head, sending a shiver down her spine. She loved it when he did that. She couldn't help but be in a slightly better mood when he was so sweet to her.

"How about some chocolate-chip pancakes, just like Hogwarts used to serve?" she asked, a faux smile playing on her chapped lips.

"Sounds good," said Sirius, said Sirius, almost smiling for the first time in months. The only person who could bring him out of this misery was the one person he couldn't have, the person who was rotting away in the cemetery. He cringed internally at the image in his mind of the grave and her still and lifeless form underneath it, dressed in her finest dress he had ever seen her in, dressed in the same dress she had died in.

Lily, on the other hand, knew exactly what cheered her up, her addicting drug, James. To her, he was like wine and she was an alcoholic, she couldn't get enough of him and he couldn't give enough to her. They loved each other more than any couple in the world could claim, and that's what made them happiest, knowing how perfect they were for each other. Lily looked out the window at the forest surrounding her house and the small lake outside their window, Godric's Hollow was the perfect place for them, and she knew it. This house was left to them by James's mother and father after they moved to a different house to grow old together, farther away from the city and farther into the country. It had begun to rain again and she got back to work making the food. She pulled her wand from her pocket and waved it towards her cupboard. Immediately, a pan, measuring cups, milk, and everything else involved in making pancakes zoomed out, and for a special touch, chocolate chips. Everything began assembling itself and they even flipped themselves while on the stove. Lily gave her wand another wave and three cups zoomed from a cabinet above her head. James ducked as they flew to the table and were immediately filled to the brim with pumpkin juice, their favorite drink. Lily sighed as the pancakes zoomed to three plates waiting on the table, a stack big enough for an elephant zoomed onto Sirius's plate, a stack slightly smaller for James, and three pancakes for Lily. She gave the wand one last wave and three forks zoomed from the drawers and landed next to each plate.

Lily walked back to the table, picking up her fork and eating the delicious pancakes that magic could make. They were the perfect food, perfectly fluffy with the exact amount of chocolate chips. Lily was in heaven, being the choclaholic that she always was. James and Sirius dove into their food, downing it faster than humanly possible, something that Lily still marveled at. When everyone was finished, Lily went to her room and pulled out a small journal she'd kept from her first year at Hogwarts and began reading it. Her first day was amazing, the first time she'd ever met Claire on the Hogwarts Express. She'd helped Claire get rid of a painful curse, having read a few counter-curses in her books before coming to school. Ever since then, they'd been inseparable. Tanya joined them in the train that first day, having fallen and being helped up by Claire. That was how the three best friends began, and it would always have been them, even after school if it wasn't for the stupid poison. Lily shut the notebook hard and spitefully. She didn't want to think about those Slytherins or she might literally hurt someone. It was hard, when thinking of Claire, not to laugh. She had the most amazing personality. She was as smart and as sharp as a tack, but her common sense, well, a pencil eraser had more common sense than she did. Lily found out only after Claire died that her parents never loved her. Her father used to beat her mother and her mother used to yell at her to leave even when Claire defended her. Claire carried bruises her entire life from them, there was no denying that fact. Sirius had been the one who told, but it was a reluctant thing. Claire was not only a sweet person and completely misunderstood and unloved most of her life, but the most beautiful person in the world. When she first came to school, some people suspected her to be part Veela, a complete lie. She had a perfect, toned, tan body from all of the Quidditch she'd played. When Madam Pompfrey wouldn't let her play after Christmas because of the poison's progression and her fatigue, she was more upset than the rest of the team. She had been the best flier they'd ever had, never falling a single time and dodging other people and bludgers was probably possible in her sleep. Claire had perfectly straight, thick, pure blonde hair that fell down to her waistline and the sparkling blue eyes that only sirens possessed. Her eyes were so beautiful that when you looked at her, you couldn't help but stare into them. People would find themselves completely lost in her eyes and forgetting the rest of her, even if she was talking.

Lily missed Claire almost as much as Sirius did, and nothing would change that. Lately, every single one of her friends, Tanya, Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus, had all become withdrawn and continually shut themselves from everything but each other. They only found comfort in each other now, and that was a sad, sad thought.

After Lily and James had graduated Hogwarts, Dumbledore had asked them, Tanya, Remus, and Sirius to join his league in fighting the evils and dark wizards of their world. It helped Lily get her mind off of things, that was definite, but nothing would ever make her forget. She had dueled countless times with dark wizards, oftentimes ones she knew form school: Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa (Black) Malfoy, Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange, and even Severus Snape. Through all of the battles she endured, she never encountered the true evil that presented itself in their world, Voldemort. Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Tanya had no trouble saying that name aloud because they didn't fear him, only hated him. Many people, people who even worked for the Ministry of Magic, refused to say his name because of fear. Lily worked her job avidly, a healer at St. Mungo's in the ward for the people who had taken poisons. She didn't want anyone to go through what Claire had gone through. James was an auror at the Ministry of Magic, very high up on the list for those with great careers. Of course, no one believed him when he said that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. Malfoy, in fact, had been working in the Ministry for some time as well, almost as much as James had.

Moonstone, Lily's cat, cantered from the kitchen and leapt up next to her, rubbing her head against Lily's arm. Lily smiled softly and petted her cat's head. James had bough Moonstone for her over a year ago and she was the smartest cat Lily ever met. She seemed know how everyone was feeling and she seemed to know how to comfort them as well. It wasn't just Lily, but people in general. The cat would watch everything that everyone did with the utmost concentration as though trying to understand it. The cat purred softly and rolled over on her side and fell to sleep. Lily sighed and stood up, closing the notebook with a thud. She walked back into the kitchen, a fresh set of tears on her face.

"Lils, please, it's okay, you're fine," said James.

"I…I miss her. I am so sorry for bringing you guys down with me," she whispered.

"We all miss her, Lils," said James, walking over and hugging her protectively. She wrapped her arms around him too and buried her face in his shoulder, the tears flowing freely again. Sirius wasn't there anymore and Lily wondered why. "He went back to his house," James said, practically reading her mind as usual.

"Oh," she sniffled.

"Do you wanna get out of here today? Do something fun?"

"Like what?" she asked, her mood brightening.

"Wanna go dancing?" he asked.

"You always know how to cheer me up, James Potter," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, I try," he said, smiling back at her.

"And what are we to do before we go dancing?" she asked, already in a better mood.

"Hmm…how about we curl up in front of the TV and watch some good, old fashioned sitcoms," he said, smiling still.

"Sounds good to me," Lily sighed. "Hot cocoa?"

"You know me all too well."

"Popcorn?"

"How do you keep reading my mind?" he laughed.

"Stop being a weirdo," she said, laughing.

"Come on, let's go watch TV," said James, smiling. "We'll call Remus, Sirius, and Tanya later to see if they'd like to join us."

"Sounds good to me."


	2. Meetings

**A/N: Don't hurt me, my computer broke! I couldn't write anything while it was down, I promise, and I had finals this week. As much as I love you guys, I wasn't going to fail a test worth 20 of our semester grade (even though I think History murdered me on Friday, lol). **

**Disclaimer: All JK, except the people you don't recognize, they're mine, all mine, my precious. Of course, Hogwarts and Dumbledore and the other really cool stuff, it all goes to JK.**

Weeks passed and it seemed like things were beginning to get slightly better. Sirius's smile had graced his lips a few times a week now, and he laughed once, a true laugh that wasn't hidden with sadness. After this span of weeks, a month had passed. Eventually, they began to wonder what was going on with Dumbledore's secret evil-fighting society.

Not long after they began to give up hope on it, a large, gray barn owl landed at Lily and James's window, a letter clutched in its beak. It was one of the same owls that delivered Hogwarts letters, only the Hogwarts seal was not on it anywhere. Lily took it from the birds mouth and looked it over carefully.

_Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans_

_The Kitchen of Number 7 Godric's Hollow_

_The British Countryside._

It was the same way envelopes were addressed at Hogwarts too, but no seal. Lily was wary, but she called James into the kitchen anyway. She handed it to him with careful fingers before going to sit in a chair. James slid his finger under the flap, the letter opening and falling to the table. Lily picked it up and scanned it quickly.

_Dear James and Lily,_

_Sorry for this coming so late after the end of term, but a few things came up and I could not get away form the school, seeing as the year has begun already. I would like to, once again, thank you for joining the Order and would like to let you know, I am the secret keeper for our headquarters, which is now nonexistent. I am sending this to you because we have a meeting scheduled for tonight and no place for it to be in. If you know where I can hold it, send this owl back to me at once; he'll know where to find me. I am sorry to intertwine business with this, seeing as I meant this for friendly purposes._

_How is Sirius holding up, and you too, Lily, and how is Tanya? I know the circumstances of our last meeting were rather sad, but I hope this time to see you all in better spirits. I know this is going to be a very important meeting, seeing as we finally have our entire order assembled and ready. One more thing, the dark presence I detected building at the end of the year, has recently grown exponentially larger. Dark times are coming for us, friends, and I hope you are well prepared for what could be the most dangerous time of your life. I believe I have discovered who is behind this though, we will talk of it at the meeting though, I promise. _

_My best wishes for you, Lily and James. Contact me at once, and I hope to see you soon._

_A Dear and Old Friend,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

"Well?" began Lily, handing the paper to James. "Think we can surprise him and have it here?" she asked in a thoughtful tone. James read the letter twice before looking at Lily with curiosity in his eyes.

"We definitely could," he said excitedly. "In fact, I would love for it to be here. My parents would be proud known an evil-fighting organization met in the house they built up," he laughed.

"Alright," Lily sighed, picking up a pen and writing back to Dumbledore that they could have the meeting in the house. They sealed it and gave it to the owl, which fluttered out the window importantly. Lily laughed, remembering how important the Hogwarts owls always thought themselves. The day passed with Lily cleaning the house rapidly and preparing food for everyone, not having any clue as to how many people would be showing up. The reply came quickly, a shortly. It was "Thank you" penned neatly on a small strip of paper.

Around seven o'clock, people began knocking on the door and Lily let them in, telling them to head to the living room. Pizzas were baking in her oven and the smell of cheese and grease floated throughout the house seductively. When everyone arrived, Dumbledore included, Lily took them from the oven and served them before going and sitting on James's lap, seeing as there weren't any other chairs. Tanya was next to them, Remus next to her, and Sirius on James's and Lily's other side. He smiled to them weakly, as did both Tanya and Remus.

"Molly, dear, how did you get out of the house with those young children there?" asked a woman on the other side of the room. A plump, red-haired woman smiled cheerfully.

"We found a babysitter, thank goodness," she said, resting her head on the shoulder of the man next to her who also had vibrant red hair.

"James, Arthur, how are things at the Ministry?" asked Mr. Longbottom. James and the red-haired man, apparently named Arthur, looked up.

"Things are holding up well," said James with a weak smile. "We're getting busier with more and more unforgivable curse cases going around. It seems like the Cruciatus curse has been a favorite lately."

"James is right," Arthur replied. "In the muggle department, too. There have been incidences of mysterious murders in muggle areas, neighbors appearing dead, but with no outward signs of death, no sickness etc. It seems like the work of the killing curse to me."

"Snakebites and victims of crucio are coming in daily," Lily chimed in. "The poison ward is full of people who claim that snakes were set on them by parseltongues. It's not good. We've been healing them quickly, but I feel like this is just a warning. It seems that Voldemort is testing us, if he knows of us."

"He knows," said Dumbledore genially. "And yes, Lily, he is testing us."

"Isn't he afraid of you, Albus?" asked Lily weakly.

"Me, perhaps. Probably not any of you though," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"I don't trust these times," said Professor McGonagall warily.

"It's going to be dark times ahead," Dumbledore answered quietly, that same serene smile still above his silvery beard. "I spoke with a woman the other day who said something of a boy who will help us. All I know is he will be born in July in a few years. It's a strange thing. She will be the new Divination teacher at Hogwarts though."

"No name, no place of birth?" asked Sirius angrily.

"Nothing. It appeared like she went into a trance of some kind and said it, and then was normal again," Dumbledore answered.

"Narcissa and Lucius. I'm sure they are behind some of these attacks. You could never put together more evil of a couple than those two," Sirius said with chagrin.

"He's putting werewolves to work as well," Remus said uneasily. Tanya smiled weakly at him, trying to comfort him.

"And vampires as well," said Alaster Moody. "Those creatures will help him, the dark ones will."

"Please, we did not come here to discuss Voldemort's means of taking over the wizarding world. This is the first meeting, and meetings always start with an introduction of some form," said Dumbledore, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Now, please, say your name and school and job and major, etc." Lily stood up first, her hand clasped tightly in James's.

"I'm Lily Evans and I work in the poison control ward at St. Mungo's and I went to Hogwarts."

"James Potter, auror at the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts."

"Sirius Black, auror, Hogwarts."

"Remus Lupin, training to be a teacher, Hogwarts."

"Tanya Bolanos, writer for the Daily Prophet, Hogwarts."

"Molly Weasley, mother, Hogwarts."

"Arthur Weasley, I work in the muggle department of the Ministry, I went to Hogwarts."

"Minerva McGonagall, I teach at Hogwarts, and I went there as well."

"Alaster Moody, I'm an auror, and I went to Hogwarts." And that's how the night went, everyone introducing themselves. There was at least thirty people there, each one having something different to offer, which was good. Afterwards, everyone just left except for Sirius, Remus, and Tanya. The five friends finished the pizza, playing poker for the rest of the night like old times. It actually got Sirius laughing a few times. He was amazed by the TV though. He didn't get it at all, especially not the pathetic special effects. When Sirius, Tanya, and Remus finally fell asleep, each in a different bedroom in the house, Lily and James cleaned up before going to bed themselves and sleeping in until ten in the morning, seeing as it was a Saturday.

**A/N: Short, I know, but I was half asleep when I was writing this because it was like one in the morning and I was exhausted. I had a tone of things going on with the school Musical and the school play (yeah, two different things and I'm in both) so, I was pretty tired. Alrighty, review please and thanks. Hope you all had great holidays!**


	3. Spies

**A/N: Apparently the last chapter was horrible since I only got like 4 reviews, if you didn't review, it made me sad, and someone even flat out said it was boring in their review, so I'll try to make it more interesting, okay? Well, let me think about how I can do this…okay, got it!**

**Disclaimer: everything from Harry Potter is JK Rowling's not mine, she's the amazing author, and I am the wannabe, that is all.**

The time after that meeting passed oddly, sometimes it was fast, other times it dragged on so slowly it felt like years before the next day even came. James and Lily had become closer than ever, since many people in the Order were beginning to go missing and end up at St. Mungo's. Lily's job was getting tougher and tougher considering the amount of snakebites were steadily going up higher and higher. It was a record by this time.

"No one we knew today," said Lily as she walked apparated tinot he kitchen, fresh home from work.

"That's good," James replied solemnly, looking up from the Daily Prophet. He was standing over the table, not sitting down, looking at it as it sat there, the moving pictures looked to be arguing.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked warily, instantly alerted to something off about James.

"Someone died today, the killing curse apparently. The Ministry says it's the Death Eaters again," he said with a worried glance to Lily. He walked over to her as her face went scared, her body rigid, and wrapped comforting arms around her, kissing her forehead as she let her head fall against his chest.

"Who was it?" she asked, not looking up at him.

"No one in the Order, thank Merlin, but I worked with him, he was an auror too," James said sadly.

"James, I'm so sorry," Lily said, now wrapping her arms around him. He rested his chin on top of her head and they stayed like that, feeling perfectly safe and content, until an owl flew through the window with a letter in its beak bearing the crest of Hogwarts. Lily looked up and ran to it, plucking the letter from the bird's mouth. She ripped it open and read furiously.

_Lily and James_

_I have a mission for you that must be done sometime this week. After the recent killings, things have become more and more hectic at both the ministry and the Order. We need you to go to Knockturn Alley, to a bar and club there, and spy on the death eaters that are reportedly there each night to hand out information to others interested in joining Voldemort. Perhaps if you can disguise yourselves well enough, you can get some information off of them. It would be ever so helpful for you to do this tonight. Do not, under any circumstances, make a scene or reveal you know anything of the Order, for they don't even know of its existence. The people you should look for will most likely be Regulus Black, Bellatrix Black, now Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange, and the Malfoys. Disguise yourselves well, since they know you. I do not want either of you hurt. If things get bad, leave immediately. I can't have any deaths on my hands, it would kill me. Please send me back whatever information you are able to get with this, and only this owl. It will stay with you until you give it another letter. Thank you for your help. Oh, the name of the club is Blood Dance, you may need to know that in order to find it. And make sure you say nothing of Lily being a muggle-born. They will only serve pure-bloods, and will probably kick her out if they find out.  
_

_A friend,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"You think it's a trap?" Lily asked, handing the letter to James.

"No, no one can forge Dumbledore's writing that well," said James after his eyes scanned the paper. "It's definitely his writing. So, what do you want to do? I'm sure only one of us has to go, and I don't want you getting hurt, so, I'll go."

"Are you crazy? We're both going," Lily argued, pulling her wand from her pocket. "But the question on my mind is our disguises. We'll need to look like death eaters, or those who want to be just that."

"Well, we'll need to look evil, so you're fine the way you are," James joked. Lily, not thinking it was funny, punched him playfully in the arm. "I was kidding," he amended, grabbing his arm where she had hit him.

"When you're kidding, it's supposed to be funny," Lily said with a small smile on her thin, porcelain lips.

"I thought it was funny," he argued. "But, that's besides the point. How about I help you with your disguise and you help me?"

"Fine," Lily conceded. James waved his wand above her head, muttering some choice words. Lily walked over to the mirror and saw she was in a short, tight miniskirt, a black tube top, and had cropped, spiky blonde hair and huge hoop earrings along with a nose ring. "It works," she laughed. She was also much thinner, tiny instead of the average body type she had before. There were also tall, heeled black boots that went up to her knee. She looked like a hooker!

"I like the skirt, I think you should keep it after this assignment," James said with a smirk. Lily turned and glared at him with absolute loathing.

"My turn," she said, walking over to him with a crooked and mischievous smile. She heard James mutter something under his breath as she waved her wand, also murmuring her spell. James was now decked in black leather pants and a black sleeveless t-shirt, a leather jacket over top. He had shaggy, dark brown hair that hung in his eyes, and his muscles seemed to double. Lily burst into laughter as she James glared at his reflection in the mirror. He took off his glasses and examined himself again.

"Any reason you wanted to give me a more Sirius-like fashion?" he asked angrily.

"Because, you dressed me like some cheap slut," Lily retorted with a smile.

"Fine, but we have to change your eyes or they'll recognize you on the spot," James said with a grin, pointing his wand at Lily and saying a quick spell. Her eyes immediately changed to a light, liquid blue. Lily looked in the mirror and sighed angrily. Her eyes were her most favorite feature she had, and she couldn't even have them for a few hours.

"So…are we gonna do this?" James asked warily. Even Lily was a little nervous at the time, and she rarely ever got nervous. She nodded, noticing how odd it felt not to have her long red hair on her head anymore, but now a short, blonde pixie cut. She sighed as they walked out in front of their house and clasped hands. James waved his wand and they apparated to the center of Knockturn Alley. All the disgusting creatures were walking around at this hour of night, close to ten. James spotted a neon sign across the street reading Blood Dance in neon red letters.

"Ready?" he asked, still holding her hand.

"Yeah," she said with a furious nod. They made their way to the bar club thing, and, just as they were about to walk in, a man came flying through the doors.

"AND STAY OUT, DEADBEAT VAMPIRE! I DON'T NEED NO ONE BITING MY PAYING CUSTOMERS!" screamed the man who had thrown him. The person who had been thrown out got up and shook off his black clothing, looking Lily up and down with a look of pleasure. Lily grimaced as James raised a fist to the vampire before it walked off.

"Stupid git," James muttered under his breath as he pulled Lily into the bar with him. Loud music was blaring from the stage as girls that were even more scantily clad than Lily danced on the stage with guys. There were no lights except the bright red lasers that moved around every once in a while. James pulled Lily to the bar and they both sat down on the stools. A girl wearing what looked like a bathing suit top and a skirt even shorter than Lily's turned around to face them. Immediately, James's eyes dropped to her over-sized chest. Lily elbowed him and he looked back up at the woman's face. She had dark, curly brown hair and very full lips. She had a pair of emerald colored eyes, though intense, were nowhere near as bright as Lily's. She was very pretty, if she was born that way.

"Can I help you?" she asked only to James, completely ignoring Lily. She had an American, southern drawl of an accent and acted as innocent as innocent could be.

"We're looking for an informant," Lily interrupted as she gazed at James's fake perfect hair. She turned to Lily, seemingly surprised to see her.

"What kind of informant, we've got a lot. We've got ones on how to use the dark arts, how to speak parseltongue, where to find the best black-market goods, what the Dark Lord is all about," she stropped as Lily held up her hand.

"The Dark Lord, where can we get information on him?" she asked quickly.

"Don't be so hasty, little missy," she said as she leaned on the bar. "I'll go get the guy you're lookin' for," she whispered to Lily before walking behind the bar and down a staircase. Lily glared at James before smacking him on the arm.

"What was that for?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Staring at her chest like that," Lily scolded him, smacking his arm again.

"What about that one?" he whispered angrily.

"For not knowing what you did," she whispered back. They turned in their chairs to see the woman return with Regulus Black whispering sweet nothings into her ear before she turned and he kissed her the most way in the world. He looked like he was eating her face. He came and stood in front of them, still staying behind the bar.

"What can I tell you?" he asked in a hushed voice, brushing a strand of his black hair from his eyes.

"We want to know about what you all do, why should we join the Dark Lord? Who are the kinds of people we'll meet? All of that stuff," Lily said flirtatiously, playing it up a bit too much. Regulus seemed to think it was real and leaned across the bar to talk to them.

"We tell people join or else," he whispered. "If they refuse, they die or are tortured and sent another invitation later."

"Sounds fascinating," Lily said with a flirty smile.

"It really is, babe," Regulus replied. James was looking on in horror, jealousy written across his face. "And about the who's who in the Death Eaters, we got a ton, but I'm not drunk enough to tell," he joked. "Or, you may need to give me some money." It was clear he was a bit drunk, that was obvious, but apparently not enough for them. He reached for a firewhiskey and chugged the entire thing down. It was disgusting, especially since he was underage still. He was much more wobbly now, and almost incoherent.

"So, what names can you give me of Death Eaters?" Lily asked, leaning across the bar and speaking in a very seductive tone. James was wondering why she was never like that around him by now, but this time Regulus was talking.

"We got the Malfoys, and the Lestranges, Barty Crouch's kid, can you believe that? Anyways, there's also the Crabbes and Goyles, those fat oafs can never do crap right. There's me, of course, and my mom and dad, though my dumb brother, mister goody good would never do anything wrong. Greyback, the werewolf likes to help out a lot too. HA! He's the one who but my brother's deadbeat friend when the guy was a kid. There's Dolohov, Avery, Amycus, Alecto, Jugson, Macnair, Rookwood, Rosier, Karkaroff, Snape, and I think that's it," he said swaying a bit. Lily looked at James with a worried expression at the last name mentioned.

"So, what does the Dark Lord want out of this?" asked Lily with the same flirty smile and seductive tone.

"To rule the wizarding world, with we death eaters at his side of course. What world any Dark Lord want?" he asked with a slur to his words.

"Ahh," said Lily with that smile to show she was interested.

"Can I get your name, sweetie?" Regulus asked, placing a hand on top of the one she had on the bar stroking it softly.

"Claire," Lily lied, saying the first name that came to her head, and regretting it almost instantly. She wasn't thinking straight when he touched her, like some electric shock shot through her, painful and making her wince.

"My idiot older brother had a girl named Claire once, but we had to take care of her, actually we meant to kill another girl, ha ha, but we gave the poison to the wrong chick. She was fine though, probably one of the hottest girls I ever saw, nice rack, good ass, long blonde hair, thin, good at Quidditch, she was hot. Too bad we killed her, she would have made a hell of a pro Quidditch player, not to mention she'da been a good death eater if she decided to be. Shame we killed her instead of the bitch we wanted to get rid of," he joked, sounding as though he didn't even care. Lily couldn't help herself, she lunged across the bar, her fist connecting with Regulus's jaw. Before she could strangle him, James pulled her back and pushed her behind him. He was worried for Lily's sake now, not just Regulus's.

"What the hell, man. Keep that bitch of yours down," said Regulus to James, standing up and grabbing a towel to dry off his face. He threw it down at the floor. "What's your problem?" he asked, addressing lily now.

"Nothing," she lied. "I just don't like people talking about others that way."

"Then you got no place with us," Regulus said flat out.

"Watch it," James warned.

"We can take this outside if you want," Regulus warned.

"You don't want to do that, mate," James said in a threatening tone.

"Why not, bastard?" Regulus asked, asking for it is a better word.

"Because, she'll kill you," James said, nodding his head towards a now fuming Lily.

"Just get the hell out of here," Regulus said angrily.

"Whatever man," James said, pulling Lily out of the bar. Regulus was glaring at them the entire way. When the two of them got back to a corner, they apparated back to Godric's Hollow and changed back into their normal selves.

"How dare he!" Lily screamed as James wrote everything they learned down to send back to Dumbledore. He handed the letter to the bird, who took it gently and fluttered out the window again.

"Calm, down, Lils," James coaxed.

"You heard what he said about Claire, about…me, and Sirius too! What an ass!" she screamed.

"Calm down," James repeated, going over to her. Lily had tears streaming from her green eyes.

"I'm fine," she lied, wiping the tear off her face.

"No you're not, you need to calm down and relax," James said, picking her up. Lily's eyes grew wide as he carried her to the bedroom and dropped her on the bed, sitting there with her, his arm wrapped around her as she laid next to him, facing him, more in love than she could ever imagine a year ago. After about an hour, they both fell asleep in each other's arms, trying to forget all that had happened that night.

**A/N: Better? We got some good information out of it, some lovin', some conflict, some fighting, almost, and some good clean adorable romance for James and Lily. Hope this is better than last time. After the depressing lack of reviews I tried to get up a new chapter ASAP. By the way, I need a beta for my HP stories, if you're interested, say something in your reviews or PM me, please!**

**Peace! Embers!**


	4. News

**A/N: Oh, sorry for the gaps. I got sick and then drowned in make-up work, and then theatre is killing me too. We have to learn a ton of dances for a musical and a bunch of songs and I'm also in a play so I have to learn my lines for that because I am like the freaking lead in it. Gah! It's frustrating. So, we're skipping a ton of time again, don't worry, I'll catch you up with flashbacks.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, it's all JK's.  
**

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As a year passed and the grieving period came to a close, something very important happened in Lily's life. James had asked her to marry him. Not in the romantic way, but in a typical James way. She woke up one morning with an engagement ring on her finger and a post-it stuck to her head telling her to follow the arrows. Red arrows which alternated with gold arrows, Gryffindor's colors, led her to the kitchen where the room was filled with Lilies of every kind and a huge sign in the middle of the kitchen asking Lily to marry him. James appeared behind her, kissing her on the cheek as tears flooded down her face and she jumped into his arms, screaming yes at the top of her lungs. Remus, Tanya, and Sirius were in the next room, watching the entire thing. 

"You're just too cute for your own good," Lily had said with a smile.

"I know," James had replied, kissing her passionately before grabbing her hand and examining the ring. "But, I have to go to work, babe," he had replied sadly. She kissed him again and he apparated out of there. She sighed, going to get ready for work herself when an owl fluttered through the window. She grabbed the letter from it's beak with a curious expression.

_Lily Evans,_

_We are sorry to inform you that due to your recent promotion your hours have been changed to those of the nighttime shift. You will report into work by seven in the evening and will clock out at seven in the morning. _

_We are sorry for causing any inconvenience to you or your family. We know that this is the worst time for everyone to work, but it seems that is when the attacks happen most often and we need you at those times. Please, do not hold it against us; we need your expertise. We will see you tonight, Ms. Evans._

_Diane Morgan_

_Secretary_

_St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries._

Lily sighed slowly, throwing the letter in the trash. She was not going to like this. She quickly pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a letter to James, explaining why she would not be home when he got home. She gave the letter to the owl, who flew off.

A few minutes later, the same owl flew into her window with a letter in his beak.

_Lils,_

_You can't let this happen, you need to deny this promotion or quit. We already barely see each other, and now we won't see each other at all. We're engaged now, babe, remember? I know you want to tie the knot quickly and so do I, but if you work like this we'll never have tome to plan the most amazing wedding of our lives. I know you love that job, and you're doing what Claire would have wanted, but this is getting too hard. Maybe I should quit my job…however hard it is to get, an ex-auror can always find a good job somewhere. I just hope that there's some way for us to work this out. I'll talk to you later, and I hope we'll get a chance to see each other when you get home. I'll talk to the minister about getting my hours changed to match yours, but I can't make any promises. _

_Alright Lils, I love you, never forget that, my flower. _

_Love you,_

_James._

Lily sighed and read through the letter again to make sure she had read correctly. Quit? No, she couldn't do that, never, it was out of the question. James get his hours changed? That could work, but the minister was a strict old man who hated change. He was impressed with James though, so perhaps it could work. She wrote back a short reply that consisted of her refusing to quit and refusing the denial of a promotion when they were getting to the point that they needed the money. She also told him that asking the boss for different hours was a good idea, but to present it well or he'd be in trouble.

After sending the owl off again, she grabbed the remote for the television and flipped it on, watching some sappy drama and not really paying attention. The day was passing slowly and at six-thirty, James apparated into the room.

"Hey babe," he said, walking over behind the couch and kissing her on the top of the head. Bending over the back of the couch, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her cheek before she turned her head and kissed him on the lips, her tongue darting inside his mouth for s split second before she let go and got up, walking around and leaning against his muscled chest.

"How was work?" she asked sadly, knowing she had to get ready soon.

"Long, tiring. The boss said he'd consider letting my hours change a bit, which is promising, I think," James said warily.

"Well, good news is always welcome," Lily said with a smile, looking up at him.

"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "You need to get ready to go save people, though," he said, a smile creasing his lips as he smacked her bum. She laughed, hitting him playfully on the arm before walking to the bedroom and emerging in her healer's clothes. She sighed, looking at the clock. She had to be there in fifteen minutes.

"I'm gonna get a snack and then I have to go," she sighed, yawning.

"Will you be able to stay awake at work?" James asked with a laugh.

"I can try," she mused, walking into the kitchen. He followed her, smiling.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked, seeing his goofy expression.

"Because, once we get married, we can have kids, and you know how kids are made," he said with a laugh.

"You didn't ask me for that, did you?" she joked.

"No, I asked because I love you," he said wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. "That other part is just a plus, and I want kids, at least four."

"Four? You'd feel differently if you were the one who went through labor," she said, spinning out of his arms towards the counter and walking to the fridge. She pulled out some of the leftover salad and grabbed a fork, eating it.

"Want some coffee?" he asked, walking towards the pot.

"Please, I may need it," she said gratefully. "You're still smiling, that isn't the real reason is it?" Lily asked curiously.

"Not really. I'm so excited that we're finally getting married. It's a great thing for us. I mean I can see Sirius as someone who will never get married, and the same with Remus maybe, unless some really weird girl comes along who can respect his secret and doesn't care about it, but what are the odds of that?" he asked with a smile. "I'm just so happy for us."

"Me too," said Lily with a laugh, taking another bite of salad. "Why would Sirius not get married though?"

"Sirius has been one of those guys who, if he gives his heart away to someone, no one else is ever going to get the same amount as that first girl. I mean Claire was the perfect girl for Sirius, and he gave her his whole heart. When she died, it killed him inside and he never really got his whole heart back."

"Yeah, that's true. Tanya wasn't much for commitment either, I knew she and Remus wouldn't last, it was obvious knowing those two as well as I do," Lily laughed. She smiled, realizing how talking about Claire didn't hurt her as much. She looked up at the clock. She had five minutes before she needed to clock in.

"Babe, I need to go," she said with a smile, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him before apparating with a loud crack. She clocked in and went to the ward she was in charge of. Her promotion made her head night healer, which was always good. She wasn't really working on people though, just teaching trainees, overseeing, and saving lives. It was a full job.

"Lily, there's a snake bite in ward two, needs special attention, we think it's You-Know-Who's snake," said a passing healer.

"Got it," said Lily, taking a sip of her coffee and walking to the second ward. She opened the door and a man was covered in snake bites form head to toe. She cringed, but grabbed her potions and got to work on healing him. It was going to be a long night.

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**A/N: Once again, I am so sorry for this humongous gap, it's unacceptable I know. Please don't abandon me though. I promise, I will be better about this. Please review and I know this chapter is pretty short, but good things come in small packages, remember?**


	5. NOTICE, PLEASE READ

**Notice From The Author**

**IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**

Dear readers, I am sad to inform you that I have no idea as to when my next update will be, but I know for a fact that it will not be this weekend or at all this or next week. I am sorry, and do not get angry.

I know I have been slow on the updates because of my plays and all that, but a new development has come up. We got the rehearsal schedule for the musical and I will be staying after school until about six o'clock every night and weekends will be spent at rehearsals as well, and this will last until the first of April, sorry.

Not only does that restrict my writing time, but also my schoolwork time, and as you can understand, my schoolwork comes before fanfictions.

I will be backed up a long time, especially with the essay I have to write that's due next week in history.

So, my apologies, but I can't be updating anytime soon. And don't think it's just for this story. If you look at all my incomplete stories, this notice is posted there too.

So, don't get angry with me, hate my drama teacher. I already do, especially since Saturday is my birthday and I have to spend from one in the afternoon until five in the evening practicing.


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